AI Industry Updates, July 2024: Empowered Avatars

Published 18 July 2024

Author
Adam Speight
2 min read

As explored in Living in the Metaverse, users want virtual worlds to better represent physical interactions. In response, companies are continuing to explore how consumers will interact with avatars. In July 2024, new AI-based avatar solutions emerged across creation and user interaction.

  • Microsoft’s Avatar Creator: Microsoft has introduced AI-enabled avatar creation to its Mesh platform. Microsoft Mesh is aimed at bringing avatars and immersive 3D spaces to the workplace. Instead of having users choose between “hundreds of combinations”, its avatar creation now enables users to generate a digital presence in a more efficient and accurate way. The tool will analyse the users’ visual features from a submitted photo, and suggest three avatar options suited to their face shape, hair, eyewear and facial hair – the goal being to help users better “craft an avatar that represents you”.

    Once created, the avatars can be used in Mesh in Microsoft Teams, with two immersive spaces for hosting meetings. Microsoft also recently added new wardrobe options for avatars, while emotes will come later.
  • The UK’s AI Parliamentary Candidate: The first UK AI parliamentary candidate tried (and failed) to get elected in the country’s July 2024 elections. Named AI Steve, the goal of the avatar was to “truly represent” constituent views by forming policies based on conversations with them, with the ability to have up to 10,000 chats simultaneously.

    AI Steve is the avatar of Steve Endacott, founder of AI technology company Neural Voice and a former Conservative Party candidate. AI Steve’s campaign to become the member of parliament for the Brighton Pavilion constituency touted that he would reinvent democracy, with the avatar’s actions determined by constituent vote.

    Endacott would have acted as the physical conduit for AI Steve in the House of Commons, acting based on proposals taken forward with a majority vote. Ahead of the vote, constituents could talk to AI Steve to ask questions regarding policies, with said policies determined by the discussions the avatar had with users.


For more, see The Metaverse 360°: Realising Virtual Realities.